The present invention relates to pipe insulation and more particularly to skid pipe insulation. In reheating furnaces for heating metal billets or the like, there are skid rails which support the billets during the heat treating operation. These skid rails are supported by a structural frame-work of water cooled skid support pipes. These skid support pipes are insulated to reduce the pick up of heat from the furnace by the cooling water and thereby save fuel and cooling water. The insulation also improves the life of the skid and the billet surface quality. Insulating skid pipes and skid support pipes has been a problem because the insulating material is subject to vibration and slag which tends to wear the insulation and vibrate it loose. A relatively short service life requires that the furnace be shutdown at frequent intervals for replacement or repair of the insulation.
A number of techniques for insulating these skid pipes have been employed in the past. One such technique is to weld studs to the skid pipes and pack a refractory material over the pipes and around the studs to form a monolithic coating. Another technique is to wrap a wire mesh around the skid pipes and pack the refractory into the mesh. A number of other arrangements have also been used with varying degrees of success.